Injury hit Saints re jigged and put in their most comprehensive home performance of the season, the squad stepped up to the plate in adversity and the spirit showed.
The scoreline flattered an Aston Villa side who looked gutless from the very first minute and failed to register a shot on goal in the first half.
When the Saints team was announced an hour before the kick off it showed the Saints line up with Djenepo at right back, whether this was a ploy by Ralph Hasenhuttl to fool the Villa camp or just lazy journalism i'm not sure, but it was a talking point pre match.
But the moment the game kicked off it was clear what the formation was, James Ward Prowse was ar right back, Will Smallbone made his Premier League debut in the centre of the midfield and Djenepo was up front and he soon showed he was up for it after his lacklustre display a week ago.
Indeed Djenepo showed the difference between the two sides in terms of spirit and fight, when he had a head injury he was bandaged up and raring to go, when El Ghazi went down clutching his head he was off the pitch, he rolled back on and started a farce where he firstly wasted everyones time being treated whilst he gestured to the referee about being elbowed before deciding he couldn't continue, even his own team mates went over and appeared to be telling him to get off the pitch.
This was the difference between the two sides, we had fight we had spirit and we fought for each over as a team as well as individually.
Djenepo in a wild card role up front had room to run at the Villa defence and he did that especially when he crossed for Shane Long to score in the 8th minute after sustained pressure.
The main debate seemed to be with what part of his body he had put the ball in, Villa claimed his hand but it was nowhere near that as TV showed, Match of the Day said it was his six pack, bt they were being diplomatic, the Irish striker clearly put it in with his genitals, the next chant will surely be "Shane Long he scores with his nuts"
This gave Saints the breathing space they needed and it was a comprehensive first half display, Pepe Reina made a couple of smart saves to block both Djenepo and Ings and it could easily have been 3-0 at the break.
In the second half Villa were a little better but not much, but Saints for all their domination could not find a second so it was looking like a nervy finish.
But Saints remained cool and although Villa pushed they didn't look like scoring, their final chance saw JWP block well and from the corner McCarthy punched clear, initially Cge Adams didn't look favourite to get the ball, but he did, held off a challenge and then showed great vision to sweep the ball across the pitch to put Stuart Armstrong through on goal, it wasn't an easy finish he had to make a 30 yard sprint and then roll it into the empty net fro 25 yards or so, but he did and the game was won.
This was a match when it was hard to pick a man of the match, everyone was at least an 8/10 and contributed to a team performance, Stephens and Bednarek were solid at the back and showed how that can help a side dominate a game, Will Smallbone had a solid debut and Shane Long was well Shane Long never stopped battling and running, but there were more than a few contenders for a 9.
James Ward Prowse was one, playing out of position at right back he not only looked assured defensively,, he seemed to bring organisation to the defence, he held his position and found his man and urged others to do the same.
Djenepo was another, he is a wild card that is for sure, but like Sadio Mane he can frighten defenders to death and if he doesn't appear to know what he is doing at times, nor do they, he played a vital part especially in the first half.
Stuart Armstrong was another who worked hard and thoroughly deserved his late goal to cap a fine performance.
Saints took a big step in beating Villa, they showed they can win at home and more importantly the three points means we put a big gap between us and the bottom three and kept us in the mix behind the top 10.
I still think we will find it difficult to get a Europa League spot and even a top 10 finish will be tough, but we have something to chase this season and something to build on for next.
Time to put the past behind us whether it is the success of 5 years ago, the tribulations of the last 2 years or even the debacle that was the autumn of this term, we have to stop harking on about what has gone before good or bad and look to the future without prejudice and give those in charge now the benefit of the doubt.
We should go to the match to support our team and enjoy it, not to wind ourselves up and froth at the mouth, the future has a lot more positives than negatives.